Temperature:
-2.5°C
28°F

Wind force:
3.8 m/s
9 mph E

The village Voss with its 14.000 inhabitants is the centre of the broad agricultural areas in the valleys around the lake Vangsvatnet. Today, Voss is a centre for tourism, both summer and winter. The tourist trade has gone through vigorous development since the war, the hotels and the skiing resort are among the major investments.

In the winter, Voss is well known for its excellent skiing resort. Hangursbanen, a cable car leaving from central Voss, takes you to 570 meters above the village in four minutes. Voss has a very well developed skiing resort, with slopes for skiers at all levels, from beginners to the highly advanced. Whether you prefer snowboard, slalom or telemark, you will always find a suitable challenge. The Norwegian railway company offers a special ticket from Bergen, including transport from Bergen to Voss and back, day-card to all the lifts, and bus transport from the railway station to the resort. 40 kilometers of slopes and 10 different lifts are available through this ticket.

There are some 20 hotels and other accommodations in Voss and the surrounding areas, Fleischers Hotel, Park Hotell Voss, Jarl Hotel-Mæland and Voss Hotel & Appartement being the larger ones. Voss Ski Lifts and Voss Ski & Surf skiing school are among the popular tourist attractions. Voss has always been a junction for traffic in Western Norway. Tjodvegen, the main road between Bergen and Oslo in the middle age, ran straight through the village, from Bolstad to Gudvangen. Communication routes to Sogn, via Stalheim and Gudvangen, and the connections to Hardanger, via Skjervet to Granvin and over the mountain to Folkedal, has been in use from prehistoric times.

Traveller's inns have existed at Vangen since the middle age, and from 1647 the post route between Bergen and Christiania (now Oslo) went along the old main road from Tysso by the Bolstad fjord to Stalheim. People from Voss have been known as a travelling kind for centuries. Few villages in Norway has kept their middle age traditions up to modern times like Voss. The old smoking cabins (for smoking and grilling meat), many of which are still in use, reveals the strength of traditional habits in Voss and the surrounding areas. Some of the finest middle age lofts are found in Voss: Finnesloftet, Lydvaloftet and Ringheimsloftet are placed in an interesting cultural landscape. The museums Voss Folkemuseum and Dagestadmuséet also give us a look into the rich culture of Voss.

During the last few years Voss has developed its special and increasingly famous jazz festival, Vossajazz, which draws musicians from the whole world. Another special tradition in the respect of well preserved food culture is smalahove (grilled heads of sheep). This ancient dish from the Voss area is gaining new popularity, especially as a christmas dish, in the rest of Norway. Old smoking houses are still in use in Voss and Evanger.

Voss also has a number of educational institutions, such as high school, nurse school and others. The educational traditions are as old as any, Ludvig Holberg was a teacher in Voss.